Facing the music

My previous post was a very passionate one. I was seriously thinking of quitting music to sell Mary Kay products for a living. I felt like God had answered a prayer and told me which direction I needed to take my life in.

That was less than a month ago.

This month, from February 9-12, I attended the annual Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) convention in San Antonio. My Kodály professors were there giving several clinics, and I attended nearly all of them. One fo the clinics ended up being my absolute favorite, called "Keep the Music Going with Easy Musical Transitions". The title says it all. Part of the Kodály approach in elementary music education is to teach music musically. If you're teaching music, then already your activities will be musical. But when you change from one activity to another, you can make your transitions a musical experience as well.

Attending that one particular clinic was like a much-more-needed answered prayer. I'm so glad I went to TMEA. It was incredible and so worth it! The clinicians of this particular clinic demonstrated different ways they execute transitions within a 45-50-minute lesson. They performed in front of 3rd-5th graders who had excellent in-tune singing, were very attentive, it was just awesome. What was really impacting, though, is that after they explained the transitions they were to apply in the clinic, they actually went through an entire Kodály lesson plan. This was my first time witnessing a full lesson being performed. Best part? I could tell what was what in the lesson. See, when you execute a lesson using the Kodály approach, every activity morphs into a different one, and with musical transitions, it gives the lesson a special flow. This flow is critical to this approach to teaching. Unlike the typical classroom teacher doing a lot of talking, giving instructions, etc., the Kodály teacher teaches an entire lesson using music, singing, non-verbal communication, anything to keep the music going. What ensues is a musical dialogue between student and teacher.

All that being said, having seen what I needed to see, my passion for MK has returned to the back burner, and I am now 100% remotivated to complete my Kodály certification, which my career depends on. All that's left is 2 teaching videos, at a minimum of 30 minutes each. I have to do a lower grade (1st or 2nd), and an upper grade (3rd, 4th, or 5th). I've written out and tweaked my lessons, and a friend/colleague has looked them over for feedback. I've recorded 3 classes so far. Said friend/colleague has viewed the videos I've made to this point, and I've received lots of praise and some constructive feedback. These teaching videos are given a grade of "pass" or "fail".

It is so motivating to know that I know what to do, how to do it, and I can submit 2 videos that show a very improved approach to my teaching.

Both figuratively and literally, I'm facing the music. I am developing my skills. One thing I really like about this is that I can show my parents what Kodály training has taught me and my students to do. For a while I've bitched and bitched, and bitched, complained and whined about how much I hated this program because of how much trouble it's given me. In retrospect, I've loaded some highly unnecessary personal drama on some very wonderful people. There are several people who've been amazing supports to my completion to this (which is now imminent):

God, Frank, Mom, Dad, Sarah, Monika, Sandra, Martha Jean, Skye, Nathan, Heather, Lisa, Tiffany, Andrew, Gaby, Lynnel, Katherine, Lauren, Lori, Alyssa, Rebecca, and of course the profs and director of the program themselves. I ask for forgiveness from those who've heard me be a big-ass whiney baby for the past nearly 8 months. I'm doing it. I'm almost finished, and I THANK YOU ALL for helping me get to where I am.

According to Zoltán Kodály himself, "Music belongs to everyone." This approach to teaching helps foster this philosophy, and I'm learning how to execute it.